Oct

For Whom the Nobel Tolls

Edmund Phelps is having a good week.He won the Nobel Prize in Economics, he has a classy/awesome sounding job title (McVickar Professor of Political Science), and his choice of the Full Windsor proves that his neckwear shall always be as dignified as his demeanor.But can he teach?

Well…four out of six CULPA reviewers say no, with one going so far as to say that Phelps is “by far the worst lecturer I’ve had at Columbia.”What’s more, one of the two who did speak up on his behalf called him “ingaging”—not the most convincing “indorsement.” Bwog, however, will refrain from judgment until we have taken Prof. Phelps’ class, which, indeed, we have not.For now, we’ll let the CULPA reviews—and the Nobel Prize Committee—speak for themselves.